Harry Potter A History of Magic British Library Tuesday 9th January 2018

It’s hard to believe that it is now 20 years since the publication of J K Rowling’s first book in the series Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone!

Have you ever wanted to delve into Divination, ponder the peculiarities of Potions and discover enchanting creatures? Now you can. And it’s exactly what students did on a rather magical visit to London.

Unveiling rare books, manuscripts and magical objects from the British Library’s collection, students had the opportunity to marvel at original drafts, such as the Sorting Hat Song, complete with editor’s notes.

We also saw the gargantuan 16th-century Ripley Scroll that explains how to create a Philosopher’s Stone; Gaze at Sirius in the night sky as imagined by medieval astronomers; Encounter hand-coloured pictures of dragons, unicorns and a phoenix rising from the flames.